Big Tex will rise from the ashes come State Fair of Texas 2013, and he'll do so in completely new surroundings. The white picket fence that has long ringed Big Tex Circle will be long gone; so too the trees and patch of grass and little mound that seemed enormous when it was raised a whole five feet in 1966. Clearly, this is what Errol McKoy, the fair’s president, meant in October when he uttered the phrase “bigger and better” when looking to the not-so-distant future.

For fair officials, that future is now: On Wednesday Bob Hilbun, the senior vice president of maintenance at the State Fair of Texas, will present to the Landmark Commission's Fair Park Task Force a very preliminary look at the new Big Tex Circle. A sneak peek at his presentation, obtained by The Dallas Morning News, follows below.

As you can see, Big Tex is getting quite the lift courtesy a massive mound that will likely be covered with cacti or native grass. And in the current iteration going to the task force, the white picket fence has been replaced by a limestone "seat wall" naming donors who've helped kick in for the redo. There will also be a handful of signs showcasing 60 years of Big Tex.

"A lot of outsiders have been moving to Texas by the day who've never been to the fair but have heard of Big Tex," says Hilbun. "Now they can get some history. And it'll really draw attention to Big Tex and the new area."

The renderings were done by Exposition Avenue-HQ'd landscape architecture firm Studio Outside, which has done work for NorthPark Center, the Dallas Museum of Art and the under-construction Parkland Hospital. Says Hilbun they came together pretty quickly -- a necessity, given the extremely contracted time line with which fair officials are working.

Paul Dyer, the recently retired director of Dallas' Park and Recreation Department, is spearheading the redo, Hilbun says, and he met with Studio Outside'rs just "a couple of weeks ago." Days later the architects came back with this look-see, which Hilbun only saw for the first time last week.

Fair officials wanted to get the preliminary looks to the task force as soon as possible, if only to make sure they're on the right track. Because if the task force members hate the proposal, says Hilbun, "we want to make sure the landscape architect isn't spinning his wheels, especially since we don't have a lot of time."

Oh -- and one last thing. That last page marked "ELEVATION - Option One 'Snake'"? Hilbun says: Fret not.

"He threw it in there for laughs, I guess," says Hilbun. "I don't see it happening."